Saturday, November 03, 2012
News Links, November 4, 2012
## Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards ##
Global Manufacturing Contracts 5th Consecutive Month
Norway oil fund cuts France, Spain holdings further
Car makers scramble for parts after supplier Autodom shuts down
"AUSTRALIA'S three car makers were last night scrambling to find alternative suppliers to fill a hole caused by the collapse of a company that made critical body panels and other parts."
GM badly lags Ford in Europe restructuring
Norway oil fund cuts France, Spain holdings further
Car makers scramble for parts after supplier Autodom shuts down
"AUSTRALIA'S three car makers were last night scrambling to find alternative suppliers to fill a hole caused by the collapse of a company that made critical body panels and other parts."
GM badly lags Ford in Europe restructuring
It's important to get into these emerging markets and get people into debt as soon as possible in a bid to prop up the infinite-growth economy, which depends on ever-expanding debt. Pity the people of Myanmar. -- RF
Global airline passenger traffic growth slows
"Global air passenger traffic growth has slowed considerably, and rose by just 4.1 percent year-on-year in September, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Friday. Global air cargo demand meanwhile grew just 0.6 percent in September compared with the same month in 2011, the Geneva-based organisation said in a statement."
Cut the cost of flying – bring your butler
"Global air passenger traffic growth has slowed considerably, and rose by just 4.1 percent year-on-year in September, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Friday. Global air cargo demand meanwhile grew just 0.6 percent in September compared with the same month in 2011, the Geneva-based organisation said in a statement."
Cut the cost of flying – bring your butler
"Fears of a jet fuel shortage at New York's airports have led some airlines to take the unusual — and costly — step of putting extra fuel on planes."
## Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums ##
Syria conflict: Rebels 'attack key airbase at Taftanaz'
## Global unrest/mob rule/angry people/torches and pitchforks ##
Kuwait warns against unlicensed protest planned for Sunday
## Environment/health ##
Wind farm noise does harm sleep and health, say scientists
"Noise caused by wind farms 'clear and significant' damage to people's sleep and mental health, according to the first full peer-reviewed scientific study of the problem."
On the Horizon, a Dreaded Wave of Locusts
"The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization warns that large swarms of locusts are forming in Africa's Sahel region and are likely to push northward to Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Mauritania once they take flight."
"Noise caused by wind farms 'clear and significant' damage to people's sleep and mental health, according to the first full peer-reviewed scientific study of the problem."
On the Horizon, a Dreaded Wave of Locusts
"The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization warns that large swarms of locusts are forming in Africa's Sahel region and are likely to push northward to Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Mauritania once they take flight."
Cyber Defense Takes Center Stage in Nordic Cooperation
"Nordic governments have identified cyber defense as a fundamental area for urgent cooperation and the development of joint countermeasures, plans and strategies."
"Nordic governments have identified cyber defense as a fundamental area for urgent cooperation and the development of joint countermeasures, plans and strategies."
WCITLEAKS.ORG: Bringing transparency to the ITU
"The forthcoming World Conference on International Telecommunications is marred by a lack of transparency. Access to preparatory reports, as well as proposed modifications to the ITRs, is limited to ITU member states and a few other privileged parties. This leaves civil society groups, and the public in general, in the dark. To foster greater transparency, we are offering a way for those in possession of such documents to make them publicly available. They can be anonymously submitted to us, and we will publish them here."
## Systemic breakdown ##
Fallout from fungal meningitis mess: more drug shortages
"The forthcoming World Conference on International Telecommunications is marred by a lack of transparency. Access to preparatory reports, as well as proposed modifications to the ITRs, is limited to ITU member states and a few other privileged parties. This leaves civil society groups, and the public in general, in the dark. To foster greater transparency, we are offering a way for those in possession of such documents to make them publicly available. They can be anonymously submitted to us, and we will publish them here."
## Systemic breakdown ##
Fallout from fungal meningitis mess: more drug shortages
"Phone and cable companies, working to restore service to areas battered by the Atlantic superstorm Sandy, struggled with lingering power failures and a shortage of fuel for backup generators."
New Jersey residents' anxiety levels rising every day
Anarchy Along The Jersey Shore And On Long Island In The Aftermath Of Hurricane Sandy
## Japan ##
Anarchy Along The Jersey Shore And On Long Island In The Aftermath Of Hurricane Sandy
## Japan ##
Pension programs around the world are on the ropes. Japan is no exception. -- RF
Electronics firms need to act fast: Lumbering giants face bleak future
JX Nippon to shut down Hokkaido refinery by late March 2014
Fitch cuts Sharp's rating by 6 notches to 'highly speculative' level
Electronics firms need to act fast: Lumbering giants face bleak future
JX Nippon to shut down Hokkaido refinery by late March 2014
Fitch cuts Sharp's rating by 6 notches to 'highly speculative' level
Frantic search for gas breeds frustration (video)
"Tempers flared as people camped out all night, waiting for their turn at the pump in the wake of Superstorm Sandy."
"Tempers flared as people camped out all night, waiting for their turn at the pump in the wake of Superstorm Sandy."
Sandy death toll in US rises to 109; 'there could be more,' Bloomberg warns
Near-freezing temps add to Sandy misery; potential nor'easter looms
Near-freezing temps add to Sandy misery; potential nor'easter looms
San Onofre shutdown costs come with hefty price tag
"Costs associated with the long-term shuttering of the troubled San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in the North County top out at a more than $300 million, officials of the plant's operator said."
San Bernardino Says It Chopped $29 Million From Deficit"Costs associated with the long-term shuttering of the troubled San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in the North County top out at a more than $300 million, officials of the plant's operator said."
